American Palate - The Austin Food Blogger Alliance Cookbook

Acknowledgements

No two community cookbooks are alike, and they would not exist without a community effort to put them together.

This book is an entirely volunteer project, with Austin Food Blogger Alliance (AFBA) members contributing every recipe, photo and essay that fill up the pages. Without members participation, we wouldnt have much of a group, much less our very own cookbook. Thanks to each of you who contributed something for the book, even if just a word of encouragement along the way.

Special thanks to David Ansel for planting the seed and the rest of the advisory councilCathy Cochran-Lewis, Susan Leibrock, Dave Shaw, Adam Holzband, Elizabeth Englehardt, Lisa Goddard, Mando Rayo, Jam Sanitchat, Marshall Wright, Vance Ely and Toni Tipton-Martinfor being such a wise guiding force as we birthed our group. Thanks also to the AFBA board membersNatanya Anderson, Jodi Bart, Jennie Chen, Michelle Cheng, Kathryn Hutchison, Rachelle King, Mike Krell, Megan Myers, Kristina Nichols-Wolter, Rebecca Otis, Mariam Parker, Kristi Willis and Michelle Webb Fandrichwho did all the pushing. Thanks go to newly elected board members Nelly Paulina Ramirez, Margaret Perkins, Heather Santos, Kristin Sheppard, Christy Horton, Brittanie Duncan, Tiffany Young and William Burdette, all of whom are helping us into toddlerhood.

We couldnt have done this without relying on the keen eyes of Megan Myers, Lee Stokes Hilton, Meredith Bethune, Suzanna Cole and Shefaly Ravula to edit the book. Photo editor Melissa Skorpil and designer Shaun Martin made the book look as beautiful as it does. Assistant Project Manager Lindsay Baileys contributions far exceeded making sure that the recipes work. Our gratitude goes out to the Cooking Planit team, which signed on to sponsor the book when it was just an idea we were tossing around. Thanks to The History Press for putting faith in us to publish this book. Last but not least, thanks to our families for their patience during all the nights and weekends we have spent making this group the best that it can be.

About the Editor

As the food writer for the Austin American-Statesman, Addie Broyles writes about everything from farmers and up-and-coming chefs to cookbooks and family recipes in a weekly column and blog called Relish Austin. In 2010, she helped found the Austin Food Blogger Alliance, which now has more than 150 members and is the only nonprofit of its kind in the country. When shes not chasing after her two young sons, the Ozarks native and University of Missouri graduate writes about women and food at thefeministkitchen.com. Her interest in womens and gender studies propelled her interest in community cookbooks, which have long given a voice to women whose work has been undervalued in American society. In recent years, Broyles has been voted the top food writer in Austin by readers of the Austin Chronicle, and in 2012, she won the National Headliner Award for her features writing.

Biographies

Natanya Anderson is the director of social media at Whole Foods Market and the president of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance. She has been working with new media for over a decade with a focus on both strategy and execution, helping organizations change the way they engage and communicate with customers. She blogs about cooking and entertaining at Fete and Feast ( feteandfeast.com) and being an epicurean in Austin at the Austin Food Lovers Companion ( austinfoodlovers.com).

David Ansel is the founder of the Soup Peddler (souppeddler.com), a food delivery service in Austin. The Soup Peddlers Slow and Difficult Soups , his cookbook and fictionalized memoir, was published by Ten Speed Press in 2005. Ansel is a member of the AFBA Advisory Council.

Sahar Arafat-Ray grew up in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex with her German-Texan mom and Middle Eastern father before moving to Austin in the early 1990s. She worked her way up from unpaid volunteer to the manager of the acclaimed Central Market Cooking School in central Austin before leaving to start TartQueens Kitchen ( tartqueenskitchen.com), for which she teaches private cooking lessons. She lives in Austin with her husband, Steve, and four geriatric cats.

Canadians Lindsay Bailey and Lauren and Michael Macaulay started The Hobbyists ( thehobbyists.ca) after a food-and-wine tour of British Columbias famed Okanagan Valley. There they decided that a deep love of food and wine was not a problemit was a hobby. Now their blog has grown to cover other hobbies, including beer, music, art, design and travel. In 2012, Bailey, an art and entertainment lawyer, moved from Vancouver to Austin, and the friends have continued the blog despite the geographical distance.

Jodi Bart began blogging in 2008 and is a founding board member of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance. In 2010 and 2011, Tasty Touring ( tastytouring.com) was named Best Local Food Blog in the Austin Chronicles Best of Austin Readers Poll. She believes that when food is made with love, you can taste it. Her goal is to taste and share the best of what Austin has to offer.

Meredith Bethune is a native Rhode Islander who works at the University of Texas by day and is an amateur charcutier by night. She also likes to cook, garden and bike in skirts. Her blog is Biscuits of Today ( biscuitsoftoday.com).

Michael and Tracy Blair have enjoyed cooking together since their college days. Michael was raised in a Greek family who owned restaurants, and he gained an early appreciation for great food. Tracy was born in Australia and exposed to unique and flavorful cuisines during her travels across the globe with her parents. The bloggers behind The Bee Cave Kitchen ( beecavekitchen.blogspot.com) enjoy wrapping up their busy days together over a craft beer or a glass of wine while joyfully preparing a scrumptious dinner for two.

Stephanie Bogdanich , a graduate of Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, currently works as a media technology specialist in Austin. In 2007, she started a personal blog, Lazy Smurfs Guide to Life ( lazysmurf.wordpress.com). She now also works on promoting vegan options at local restaurants, raising money for farm sanctuaries and other nonprofit organizations and teaching people about food.

William Burdette is a PhD candidate in English and program coordinator of the Digital Writing & Research Lab at the University of TexasAustin. He is also passionate about food. He has worked in restaurants and commercial kitchens, volunteered for food-related nonprofits and written food reviews. Currently, he produces a food podcast called No Satiation ( nosatiation.com).

Eli Castro writes the blog Grubbus (grubbus.com). He has been a coffee enthusiast since his unsuspecting parents first let him try a few sips at a dinner party when he was ten. Eli is the author of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance Coffee Guide for 2012 and has been known to route his travel schedule to pass through cities with particularly amazing espresso bars.

Jennie Chen is a research scientist with a penchant for cooking, puppies and clean driving. By day, she is an adjunct professor, behavioral endocrinology nerd, statistics geek, startup/tech enthusiast and social strategy consultant. By night, she is a hobby collector. She holds a doctor of philosophy in social psychology and blogs at Miso Hungry ( misohungrynow.blogspot.com.)

Suzanna Cole is the South Austin Foodie (southaustinfoodie.blogspot.com). She lives and works in South Austin but will wander all around in search of a good meal, so she can document it constructively on her blog.

Carla Crownover is a wannabe farmgirl, avid gardener, food preserver who blogs at Austin Urban Gardens (austinurbangardens.wordpress.com). In 2010, Crownover stopped shopping for food at grocery stores and now sources entirely from local markets and producers, many of whom have become her friends in the years since. In getting to know my food, I found my people, she says.